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Mindy Kaling Reveals B.J. Novak Is Her Daughter’s Godfather: ‘He Truly Is Just a Part of My Family’

Mindy Kaling Reveals B.J. Novak Is Her Daughter's Godfather: 'He Truly Is Just a Part of My Family'
Mindy Kaling (L) and B. J. Novak attend the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 24, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California.Emma McIntyre /VF19/WireImage

Kelly and Ryan have come full circle! Mindy Kaling got real about her ex-boyfriend B.J. Novak’s place when it comes to her 16-month-old daughter, Katherine.

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The Mindy Project alum first admitted that her dynamic with her former Office costar does lend itself to dating rumors. “If I was on the outside looking at it, I would think the same thing,” Kaling, 39, told GoodHousekeeping.com in an interview published on Friday, May 3. “But the truth is that B.J. is so much more like family now than a platonic friend. He’s the godfather to my daughter. He comes over like once a week. Sometimes he’ll come over just to hang out with her.”

Though the pair have plenty of history, these days, Novak, 39, acts as “a real staple in [her] household.”

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The Late Night star noted that the exes’ past is what makes their bond so strong. “In the When Harry Met Sally version of platonic friends, I too think that’s strange,” she noted. “But when you’ve known someone for as long as I’ve known him — the time that we met each other, which was like 24. Now, we’re both almost 40. It’s such a long time that he truly is just a part of my family.”

Kaling welcomed her first child in December 2017. She has yet to name the father publicly.

The Why Not Me? author and Novak dated on and off while writing and costarring on The Office, which ran on NBC from 2005 to 2013.

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An onlooker spotted the duo hanging out with her baby girl in West Hollywood in September 2018. The eyewitness told Us Weekly at the time that the One More Thing author was “carrying” and “kissing” Katherine during the stroll.

Novak paid tribute to his pal with a sweet tweet congratulating her on her film A Wrinkle in Time in March 2018. “When I met @mindykaling she lived in a small apartment on Fairfax Ave,” he captioned a photo of a poster featuring the actress. “This is what’s in front of that building today. Congrats Mindy and a future congrats to all those who see you in it and are inspired to do great things.”

Kaling later gushed about just how much the message meant to her. “When I was coming up there was no one who looked like me on TV or film and that was such a nice thing that he remembered that,” she said during an appearance on the Today show. “I was so moved by that. If you dream big, you can get whatever you want.”

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